AuthorTopic: Discouraging (Read 966 times)

Before anyone begins to reply to this entry with pessimism please understand that I am just as down on my self as your pessimistic response will gear towards my goal of attaining a J.D Degree. Let me start with a little background info. I am 20 years old and a recent graduate of a large VA public school. I am of African decent. My parents brought me and my siblings to the state in order that we may pursue our academic dreams. My Dads goal in life is too see us all do well academically and make great lives and careers of our own. Well 3/4 of his kids have done just that. They have engineering degrees and all work for General Electrics and doing really well for themselves. Well its my turn. I am the youngest and I guess the dumbest. I went the Liberal Arts route. Granted ever since I was a child, I always had this vision for my country. My dad was into politics and was a politician so even as a 5 year old I had insight largely because it was interesting to me and I remember clinging on to my dad and asking him to teach me about the ins and out of it all. My dream of being an attorney has grown ever since. I view my J.D degree as a ticket to be able to accomplish my goals in life politically. Well this is my story in synopsis. Now for the obstacles I currently face.

My UGPA is a 2.75 and the first diagnostic test I took last night was a 140 and it wasn't timed. I'll be taking my first LSAT ever come October. Needless to say I am devastated because I realize with my UGPA, I need to crank out a 160 to go to a respectable school and get some scholarship money. I had my first meeting with my Prelaw advisor last Wednesday and we spoke about a number of things. I let her know that I was to begin my prepping right away and she told me to take a diagnostic test which I did yesterday. Because I don't want to be out of school for long, I am shooting for spring, and latest fall semester to start law school. She gave me a few schools to look into in which she thought I should be able to get into. She wants me to apply to South Texas School of Law, University of Dayton School of Law, University of Richmond School of Law and Depaul. She believes that if i got in the 150's ill be OK and a with a 160 I could reach even more with my school choice and get some money as well. At the moment however even though I have over 4 months to prep, that diagnostic test score has been on my mind and I am really crushed. I feel like a failure. I understand in order to be successful sometimes failure is necessary but I refuse to fail and that is one thing that scares me the most in life is failure. In essence, I am asking for advise on what to do. I know I posses the capabilities to do well in law school. Whatever I put my mind too I do it and I do it well. However, I tend to doubt myself and it kills my spirit. I refuse to let it be the case this time. All I need do is get my foot in a law school and I believe in my abilities that Ill do well. The motivation towards my main goal alone in life will push me to do well.

In short, I believe my application will be solid. I am getting three solid LOR's. 1 from my prelaw advisor who is a former district attorney, One from the head of my department and one from a city of Norfolk official in which I did my internship. My PS is also going to be solid since I pride myself as a good writer and I also believe I have a compelling story to tell about my life journey. I say all of this to say this, what advice can you guys give me in order to get my score in the 155-165 range.

Work the LSAT like it's a job. It's normal to have self doubt, the LSAT score carries huge weight and is a determining factor in the type of school that will accept you and if those schools will offer you money. You may also want to look into prep courses. Just don't give up on your self.Good Luck

Work the LSAT like it's a job. It's normal to have self doubt, the LSAT score carries huge weight and is a determining factor in the type of school that will accept you and if those schools will offer you money. You may also want to look into prep courses. Just don't give up on your self.Good Luck

Absolutely right. Spend six months, eight hours a day, and you'll get about as close to your personal max as is humanly possible . . . and your personal max is far higher than you think it is. (This applies to everyone.)

Along those lines, Falcon's suggestion for military service is absolutely right. Excellent, excellent advice. Good for not just the law, but also for all aspects of life requiring organization and a deeper perspective. There's also the point about benefits, including educational benefits, and actual service to one's society.

Have you considered taking a LSAT prep course?! TestMasters, PowerScore, Princeton Review....or any other prep course available in your area, will provide you with various strategies for the different sections of the LSAT.

I would strongly recommend a prep course, and hours of personal study time.